Tokusatsu

Tokusatsu, meaning special filming in Japanese, is a genre of Japanese live-action fiction defined by its heavy reliance on practical special effects rather than by a single subject matter, spanning science fiction, superhero, fantasy and horror stories. Its modern use as a term dates to around 1958, and the genre's popularity surged during a wave of Japanese monster and hero productions in the late 1960s. Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, whose work on the 1954 film Godzilla established suitmation and miniature model work as the genre's signature methods, is generally credited as tokusatsu's founding figure. Tokusatsu properties include the kaiju franchises Godzilla and Gamera, the superhero franchises Kamen Rider and Ultraman, and team hero series such as Super Sentai, which often combine several of the genre's own subgenres at once.